Sun Palace Vacations: Turning Early Adversity into Long-Term Success

Sun Palace Vacations
Location: Fort Myers Beach, FL
Website: SunPalaceVacationHomes.com
Quick Quote: “Choosing LiveRez was huge to our success.”

When Ron Hemstreet and Judith Lee-Hemstreet decided to move from Toronto, Canada to Fort Myers Beach, FL in early 2004, the idea was to leave the stress of their high-profile jobs producing live events and move into the less-stressful gig of managing vacation rentals.

That was the idea, at least. Then, the hurricanes came.

First Charley. Then Frances. Then Jeanne. Then Wilma the following year.

“Imagine moving here and then 10 days later you get evacuated,” Judith said. “And, three of your four properties are damaged, and they won’t let you back on the island.”

But, what started out as a rocky endeavor has now blossomed into a very successful business.

Their company, Sun Palace Vacations, now manages 32 properties and just this month moved into its new offices at 1750 Estero Blvd. So far this year, the company has seen a 220 percent year-over-year increase in sales during the months of August, September and October.

In the near term, the company is virtually booked solid, and summer 2012 is now starting to fill up as well. They’ve even hired more employees to keep up with demand.

“We’ve got to the point right now where we’re running out of properties,” Judith said.

And while Sun Palace Vacations is working on adding even more properties in the short term, if you’re planning on coming to Fort Myers Beach in the next year, it might be worth booking now.

Sun Palace Vacations specializes exclusively in vacation homes, most of which are higher-end properties. Almost all are pet friendly and many are located in clusters, allowing for family reunions and celebrations to accommodate up to 50 guests in one location.

“They are all houses that we would want to stay in personally,” Ron said. “We’ve been very selective about the properties we bring into our inventory.”

The company offers houses that range in size from two bedrooms to six bedrooms, allowing it to accommodate groups of all sizes. But, regardless of which home you stay in, you can expect many of the same amenities, like wireless Internet, hotel grade sheets and towels, quality cookware and exceptionally clean houses.

Judith said they strive very hard to offer consistency in amenities across their properties. That way when guests stay in a new home – whether it’s bigger, smaller or the same size – they can rest assured that the accommodations will be the much the same.

“They know that they can go to another house and get the same level of service and the same quality of vacation experience,” she said.

Fort Myers Beach offers a wide variety of activities for visitors. Some of the more popular activities are golfing, charter fishing, parasailing and kayaking. Eco-tourism is a big market in the area as well. Many visitors enjoy kayaking and canoeing along the Calusa Blueway, a 190-mile marked trail that winds its way through the coastal waters and inland tributaries of Lee County.

Fort Myers Beach often acts as a home base for many nearby activities, as well. From Fort Myers Beach, you can easily make a day trip to the Everglades and visit the nearby Naples Zoo. Many visitors set off on organized adventures, like dolphin tours and sunset tours, or take advantage of the great shopping opportunities (and Florida’s low, 6 percent sales tax).

“There are tons of things to do within a very short drive of here,” Judith said.

But according to Ron, many people just like to relax and enjoy the beach.

Fort Myers Beach is a great family locale. Because the island is basically a giant sandbar, the water gets deeper very gradually and is considered one of the safest beaches in the world. In all the years he’s been in the area, Ron said he’s only heard of two rip tide warnings.

The beach itself is made up of white sugar sand, some of the most beautiful sand you’ll find anywhere. And, you’ll have no problem finding a place on that sand, with the more than 7 miles of public beaches in the area.

“The beach, itself, is very accessible,” Ron said. “The town is very laid back. It’s not pretentious in any way.”

This combination of great locations, great houses, great amenities and excellent service is the solid base that Sun Palace Vacations has built its business on. But, the company has also put into place a number of practices that have helped fuel its rapid growth and keep it at the top of the vacation rental industry in its area.

Ron and Judith attribute a lot of their success to their memberships in various organizations, like the Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA).  The advice they have gained through attendance at these associations’ conferences has helped the company stay ahead of the curve.  And, that’s something they’ve made a commitment to at their business.

“We trying to be extremely cutting edge in the vacation rental market,” Judith said.

One thing that’s helped Sun Palace stay on the cutting edge of the industry is its partnership with LiveRez. This month the company will celebrate its second full year as a LiveRez partner.

“Choosing LiveRez was huge to our success,” Ron said.

According to Ron, one of the biggest ways LiveRez helps them be successful is offering guests the ability to book online. This feature is especially important to international guests that are in a different time zone, Judith added.

And while the company’s LiveRez-powered website offers guest the convenience of booking any time they want to online, it also helps close deals that come in over the phone. If guests are on the fence about booking with Sun Palace Vacations, they’re often spurred to action knowing that the dates they’re waffling on can be booked online anytime (unless, of course, they request a hold).

Thanks to LiveRez’s dynamic website functionality and its content management system, Sun Palace Vacations has posted a wealth of information on its website. All this information helps visitors make an informed decision about what vacation rental they want to book.

“I think that leads a lot to people’s confidence in selecting a vacation rental, because they can see tons of pictures (and) they can see exactly where the property is at,” Judith said.

The design of LiveRez-powered websites aids in this process. The beautiful layout draws visitors in. Advanced search options help travelers quickly find what they are looking for. Travelers can even utilize the website’s compare properties function. And, most importantly, at any point in the process, visitors are just three clicks or less away from booking.

“Once people get to the website, they normally book,” Judith said.

For those that do call, they’ll not only talk to a real person, but a knowledgeable staff member at Sun Palace Vacations – you won’t find the company using a call center.

During the week, the company answers phones from about 9 a.m. in the morning to about 8 or 9 p.m. at night. The company also answered phones on the weekend. In fact, if you call on Sunday, you might even catch Ron on Judith at home. And, if for some reason you can’t get through, you’ll get a speedy response.

But, no matter who answers the phone, you can rest assured that they’ll know the inventory inside and out.

“Everyone intimately knows every property,” Ron said.

When people call in, the company does its best to match the guest to the right property. The company understands that people are making a significant investment in their vacations, and they want to make sure that when they book through Sun Palace Vacations they walk away happy.

“There’s no incentive in our company for anyone to up-sell,” Ron said. “We believe that getting the guests in the right house is more important than how much they pay.”

The company’s tireless effort to put guests first is paying dividends. You see, incredible effort has been the real backbone of Sun Palace Vacation’s success.

“I think that goes for any business,” Judith said. “You get back what you put into it.”